Madhya Pradesh outplayed Bengal in all departments in the quarterfinal clash in Mumbai and sailed into the semi-finals of Ranji Trophy 2015-16. The Devendra Bundela-led team went about their business meticulously to claim an outright win in the five-day knockout game played at the Cricket Club of India. While speaking to the media later, coach Harvinder Singh Sodhi discussed the team’s preparation, strategy and the execution which helped them beat the Manoj Tiwary-led team. After assessing the conditions, the coach and the captain ensured that MP were well prepared. “We went to Surat before this match and practiced there for five days. It has a red soil pitch. When we played there during the league phase of Ranji games against Gujarat, we felt it was one of the fastest pitches our batsmen had played on in the domestic circuit. So we wanted to specifically go there and practice because we knew we were going to great red soil pitch here in Mumbai. I think that preparation helped us. In addition to that, we played a two-day game against Punjab’s Ranji Trophy team. They were playing in Valsad so they came over. It was all part of our preparation as a team and the association supported us. We spoke to them and they readily agreed,” he explained. It was a long game which saw MP batsmen pile on runs while bowlers ensured the advantage was maintained. MP set Bengal an insurmountable 788-run target as they batted the opposition out of the game after bowling them out for a paltry 121 runs in the first innings. Building on the 227-run lead, they made 560 for nine in the second innings, before declaring at the stroke of tea on the fourth day. The coach appreciated the efforts of Aditya Shrivastava, Naman Ojha, Devendra Bundela and Harpreet Singh Bhatia to post a solid 348 runs after being asked to bat on a track that had something in it for the bowlers in it especially in the first half of Day 1. He also lauded the pace attack’s efforts to keep the Bengal batsmen under pressure. They bowled Bengal out for 121 and secured a healthy first innings’ lead. However, the testing part was MP’s long drawn second innings that tired out the opposition. “We had to again bat well because there were still three days left in the game. We had to post a good score so that Bengal would not have any chance of a comeback. Psychologically we had to bat them out of the game and I think we did that perfectly. That was important.” But it wasn’t only about batting the opposition out. It was also about exposing the team to a full five-day game. Discussing the move to bat on until tea on Day 4, he said, “Another important part was that the team should feel like it is a five-day game because we always play a four-day game. So we were talking to boys that there is still so much time left in the game. They have to understand and realize how much time is there in a five-day game. You have to be very patient and you have to build partnerships. These are the two very important things in a five-day game. You have to follow all these things which has helped all our boys. It has prepared us well for the semi-final. “Spending time in the middle was also important because we were playing a five-day game after playing one-day and T20 tournaments. So that mental switch from the short format to the long format; I think we have done well in this game and should help us,” he elaborated. “We wanted to bat so that everyone gets a chance to bat in the middle as that is more important than batting in the nets. And Harpreet was going to get his 100 after a long time, so it’s a psychological barrier which a batsman has to break,” he added. MP will go into semi-finals having played a full five-day match and coming out on top in all the departments in the quarter-final. “This game has been a tremendous morale booster for the team. We have dominated the game for five days, so that’s a very positive thing that has happened in this game. This should really help us against Mumbai,” Sodhi said.